Subscribe
Follow Us
The Houston Rockets bounced back in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs to tie their series with the Golden State Warriors at 1-1 with a 109-94 win on Wednesday, and the contest featured six technical fouls, a flagrant 1 and many more extracurriculars. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka took that as a good sign for his team.
“If it gets chippy, we've seen over the last two years that's worked in our favor for the most part, gets us amped up,” Ime Udoka said, via Michael C. Wright of ESPN. “But when you have a lead, [and you're] up 20, and things start to happen, you understand why. That's kind of the last resort by teams. You've got to keep your composure at that point and just stay calm.”
With just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, a Fred VanVleet steal led to a Jalen Green layup, and in the aftermath, VanVleet and Draymond Green were seen arguing near the Rockets bench. Players from both teams then gathered and pushed in a scrum.
Green downplayed the incident, but Udoka looked at it as a positive that his team was able to frustrate the Warriors. It was a needed win for the Rockets after the disappointing Game 1 loss.
Now, the series will shift to Golden State for Games 3 and 4, and it will be interesting to see how the Rockets fare. Houston's offense has come into question over the course of the season and especially after Game 1 of the series. Going on the road presents a tough challenge, but the Rockets were the No. 2 seed because of their playstyle. It remains to be seen if that will work over the course of a seven-game series against a team led by Stephen Curry.
Game 3 will take place on Saturday night in Golden State.
